COMMUNIST China could teach Britain a lot about happiness because it is a more
“equal” society, according to the Archbishop of York.

Dr John Sentamu said that problems such as homelessness showed that it was time to reassess the basic values on which our society is based.

He argued that it is clear that the British is “not happy” and that “fairer” countries such as China, Japan and Netherlands also have more contented populations.

The Archbishop was speaking as he visited a Salvation Army centre in York to launch a project to tackle rough sleeping in the city.

He told his audience that it was possible to judge how healthy a society is by how it treats the most vulnerable people adding: “A more equal society is also proven to be a happier society.”

The Archbishop was drawing from “The Sprit Level” by Prof Richard Wilkinson and Prof Kate Pickett, which uses happiness indices from different countries to link social and health problems to inequality.